Umbrella
by Cego
Summary: Follow the path of a mysterious vigilante as they cut a trail of carnage and death through the twin cities of Piltover and Zaun and of the two partners who are tasked to track them down. (Chapter 8 redone, sorry if any confusion)
1. Awaken

**Sequence 1.1**

* * *

Ignis Kotov was a hard and mean woman. You had to be if you were going to make it as a chem-baron in the twin cities of Piltover and Zaun. She ran a tight shift, had brutal guards, and carried a sidearm at all times. Life as a chem-baron was dangerous after all. She was currently in a warehouse, overseeing her underlings as they unloaded shipments of illegal chemicals and modifications. The best part of smuggling Chemtech was that you didn't have to pay taxes. She laughed thinking of it.

"Is everything okay boss?" asked Ralf, her second in command.

"Yes Ralf, how's the perimeter looking?" she answered. One could never be too sure.

Ralf reached for his radio, thumbing a switch.

"Baker, how's the outside looking," he said into the radio.

He was answered with silence.

"Baker," he spoke again, slightly more frantic, "Come in, how's the outside looking?"

"Could it be them?" Ralf asked Ignis.

"Doubtful, they haven't been spotted this low into Zaun, they mostly patrol Piltover," she answered.

It was at this moment that a body flew through a high up window, plummeting for fifteen feet before slamming into the ground.

Ralf looked down and the lifeless face of Baker starred up at him. Blood pooled around the corpse. The workers froze and the guards around Ignis readied their weapons.

On the other side of the warehouse, the door exploded with a crash and in the light of the Chemtech, a silhouette rose from the floor. It raised its left arm and with multiple flashes, the workers and guards around her were gunned to the ground.

"Get them!" she screamed as she began to back up.

The figure pulled out some sort of weapon, shaped like a cane and skewered a charging guard through the throat before spinning and throwing the weapon into the back of a fleeing worker. The worker went down with a cry and attempted to crawl away before stopping, blood pouring from their wound.

They then brandished their wrist mounted machinegun and began to line it up with Ignis. Ignis pulled one of her brutes in front of her before they fired and she felt the impacts of the bullets through his thick body. The other brutes around her aimed with their weaponry and opened fire at the figure but they rolled out of the way, yanking their weapon out of the dead worker and pressing a switch on it, opening up a sort of shield in front of them.

The bullets pinged off and deflected, some hitting and cutting down the fleeing workers.  
From the second-floor, a guard fired their rifle at the figure. Their shoulder exploded outwards in metal shards as the shell hit them. The whine of servos sounded as their mechanical shoulder spun and tried to compensate for the damage. At least this vigilante could be damaged.

Sparks leapt from their shoulder as they tried to raise their arm but the servos shrieked in anger before the arm dropped down. Their machinegun was out of commission, it's arm stuck in the downright position.

The figure activated another feature on their weapon and small canisters of smoke shot out of the tip, landing all over the warehouse.

Ignis couldn't even see the silhouettes of her closest guards but she could hear one by one as they were scythed to the ground by the mysterious weapon-wielder.

And then she heard nothing.

"P-p-please don't kill me, I have children, I have a family," lied Ignis, tears streaking down her face.

From behind her Ignis heard a noise like crying, heavily distorted by rebreather technology and radio equipment.

It was only the moment before her head was cut from her shoulders that Ignis realized that the noise was laughter.

* * *

The scene that greeted Caitlyn and Vi was one of carnage and death. Blood splattered walls framed broken windows like a cracked smile. Bodies sprawled all over the floors and rivers of red ran from them. Caitlyn was looking at the body of the chem-baron, a grisly sight. Her head was skewered into the wall at head height by a foot long spike while her body lay on the ground fifteen feet away. ' _What could have done this?'_ she wondered.

She was interrupted from her thoughts by Vi, who pushed a slumped over body off of a crate. When the body hit the ground, something cracked and blood oozed out in light streams. Looking closer, Caitlyn realized the body had three holes in its chest in a circular shape, about three or four inches in diameter. These matched the bodies at the other ten sites of carnage that had happened since the vigilante began their movement.

Nobody was safe regardless of where they were be it the highest levels in Piltover or the lowest in Zaun. Vi gripped the lip of the crate with her large gauntlets and pried it open revealing a box full of chem-tech and robot parts.

"Cupcake, they didn't even take the goods," said Vi.

"Yes, Vi," replied Caitlyn, slightly annoyed at the nickname, "I noticed."

Vi shrugged before moving to another crate, ripping it open to reveal the same result. Almost every crate in the building was still full of illegal products… all except one.

A medium sized crate towards the back of the warehouse had a gaping hole cut into its side, small bronze cylinders had rolled out of it and laid on the ground spread out from it. Caitlyn picked one up and immediately recognized it.

"Kashuri Armories Type C Ballistic Round," she told her partner, "Outlawed in the mainland due to their unstable cores creating large explosions that could kill innocents with shrapnel."

She looked at the nearest body and realized that the holes in them were about the size of a detonation from one of these shells.

"Well that limits our suspects, Kashuri rounds are only able to be used in their own weaponry, although the weapons can use any type of ammunition, some monks think that their weapon-spirits prefer Kashuri shells though," Caitlyn explained, not noticing the bored look of her partner.

"Alright Cupcake, you can stop now," said an exasperated Vi.

* * *

SHI'AREAH [ENGAGED]

BOOTING UP INTERNAL DRIVERS

COOLANT SYSTEMS ACTIVATED

FALLBACK NET ACTIVATED

(INSERT MEMORY DIGIT): -

 _{NO MEMORY INSERTED}_

(INSERT MEMORY DIGIT): 0000001

 _{VALID MEMORY… ENGAGING}_

SEQUENCE STARTING

-~-COMMENCING MEMORY-~-

 _She runs next to me, her laughter sounds like twinkling stars. We run through the rice fields, I do not know where we are. I do not know when we are. I do not know who we are. I try to look at her face, look into her eyes. I see only darkness, or maybe it is light, I can not tell._

[WARNING! MEMORY COHESION 65%]

 _I try to look deeper. I see a smile, faded, cracked, glitched, but still there. And then the smile is gone. I laugh, the plants caress our bare feet, we fly over puddles of clear water. A storm brews behind us._

[WARNING! MEMORY COHESION 47%]

 _We are the wind, we soar through the fields, farmers are fleeing from the storm, taking shelter. We are the storm, we are the tempest. Me and her._

[WARNING! MEMORY COHESION 13%]

 _We fly over the hill and see the gates to heaven, it is burning, who am I? I am-t$% &a __**K**_ _*e!^*$*(b )!_

[WARNING! MEMORY COHESION 0%]

-~-TERMINATING MEMORY-~-

SEQUENCE ENDING

FALLBACK NET DEACTIVATED

COOLANT SYSTEMS DEACTIVATED

SHUTTING DOWN INTERNAL DRIVERS

SHI'AREAH [DISENGAGED]

* * *

 **Hi all!**

 **Long time no see!**

 **Fresh Sorcerer here with a new side story while I work on a collab with some other authors. You might know who they are but I am not willing to share any more info yet! That's only for the people on the Discord Server.**

 **Anyways, this is an idea I have had for a while ago and I think it's going to be cool.**

 **Chapters will be on the short side but that means I can write them faster and I promise this story will go on farther than anything I've ever done!**

 **Pay special attention to the glitches in the memory sequence in this chapter and following ones.**

 **Thanks and bye!**

 **-Fresh Sorcerer**


	2. Purge

**Sequence 1.2**

* * *

Katya Shirov knew that being this low in Piltover was always a risk. Nearly touching the boundaries of Zaun, it was a place where the people of the two cities met. The higher-ups of Zaun and the lower classes of Piltover mixed and mingled here. There was always a risk that these two types of people would combust as they were very different but under the faithful optics of the automatons, tempers of the two very different societies were kept in check.

It was the day of her eighteenth birthday and Katya had gone with a few friends to shop in the lower levels which were notorious for good deals and clearance sales. They were also notorious for thugs who captured Piltover citizens and ransomed them to their wealthy parents. It all started when a bulked-up mechanical hybrid of a man stepped out of an alleyway. He barely tried to hide the illegal hex-modifications on his body and the large-barreled cannon that replaced his left arm below the elbow. One eye was covered by a green-tinted auspix and a rebreather covered his mouth and nose where a combination of no doubt gasoline and drugs was channeled into his bloodstream.

Sensing the weapon, an automaton gave off a blast of binaric threats and its arm dilated, opening into a revolving chaingun. The thug paid no heed and the machine gave a second screech of machine language, this time aiming its weapon at him. Another thug stepped out behind the first, more metal than flesh. Vox-transmitters on its shoulders blared binary-challenges. The noise was sharp and brutal, a clear sign of conflict. A second automaton readied its weapon only to be gunned down by a third thug.

With a start, the five remaining automatons in the plaza all whirled to face the emerging thugs. The previously blue optics on their otherwise featureless faceplates flared red as targeting lasers lighted up. Screeches of binaric chants and war-cries flashed between the two sides as the previously peaceful shopping center turned into a warzone. Guntech activated and spewed hex-bullets into flesh and metal. A fourth and then a fifth thug appeared, the last one with a heavy machine-gun apparatus welded to both of its arms. It aimed in the direction of the robots and let loose a blast of binaric roar before activating his rotary cannon and gunning down civilian and machine alike. Screams and blood filled the air. The heavy gunner went down with the focused fire of two automatons who whirled only to be cut apart by a thug with a large chainblade bolted into the flesh and bone of his thick wrist.

It was over soon. The metal carcasses of the six robots lay sparking under the boots and metallic claws of the five gunmen. Blips and blurts of binary and hexidecimal flitted between them like breezes, visible in the air in green and red as well as a few voices from less augmented men. A sixth criminal appeared from the alleyway, this one small and hunched where the others were bulky and threatening. It clicked around the plaza on long insectile legs of metal, the auspexes in it's face scanning the identity of each captive. When it got to her, Katya starred into the amalgamation of metal and glass it called a face. It clicked and chuckled, "Shirov, Katya… pleased to make your acquaintance."

She remained silent and it whirled away from her, as if sensing something. It blared in binary and as one, the other gunmen spun, weapons tracked on the roof. She looked too and noticed a silhouette sprinting towards them down the buildings flanking the avenue.

Another screech of binaric noise sounded and with a start the gunmen began to open fire at the figure. A shield seemed to open in front of the runner and the bullets pinged and deflected away from it. The figure reached the closest rooftop and flung themselves from it. In that moment, Katya realized that the shield was in fact the open face of an umbrella. From the tip of the umbrella, flashes of gunfire exited and mass-reactive shells impacted mechanized flesh, digging in deep before detonating in sprays of sparks and blood. Two gunmen fell before the figure even hit the ground. When they did, they remained in a crouch for only a second before springing up into the air once more, umbrella between them and the gunmen at all times. Once more, shells flew from the umbrella, answering the gunmen's shots below, another gunman fell to the pinpoint accuracy of the thing. It landed behind the gunmen, tip transforming from a gun barrel to a pinpoint stiletto blade as the bulletproof shielded canopy of the umbrella folded in on itself. In one skewer, the chem-pipes and throat of the chainblade thug were pierced through before the figure spun, stabbing the remaining gunman with numerous precise strikes to the chest, piercing vital machines and organs.

The figure turned to the thinner cyborg and cocked their head to the side. Katya noticed the green optics covering their eyes flash as they scanned for threats constantly. The figure never seemed to be in focus, even though everything was still.

"Ah, welcome, my name is Lexol" spoke the last bandit as various bladed and spiked apparatuses folded out of his hunched back, "Umbrella, so nice of you to join us. I will admit, the loss of my henchmen is a minor annoyance but, your head on a platter will more than make up for it!"

With a scream of violating binaric, Lexol shot through the air towards the figure. The umbrella-wielder rolled to the side before unloading a burst of bullets into Lexol from a wrist mounted machinegun. Lexol's mechanical limbs flashed, cutting bullets in two with pinpoint accuracy.

Lexol laughed, "You're going to have to try harder than that yo-"

And then the figure was behind him, everything froze for a time before the spiked umbrella skewered through Lexol only to retract in a blink.

Lexol spun away from them, orange lubricant and oil leaking from the gash in his chest cavity. Hisses of binary threats and moans of pain came from his mouth. From behind Lexol, gunfire sounded and he spun, only to be knocked to his feet by the flurry of bullets from the figure's wrist-gun. Lexol replied with a shot from a bolt rifle attached to a servo. The figure opened their umbrella, deflecting the shot into a building before losing off two bullets from the umbrella. Lexol cut each bullet in half but they still exploded, knocking him away.

When Lexol got to his feet, he dove to the side as a pink haired figure smashed into the ground followed by the concerned voice of a woman yelling, "careful Vi!"

"Careful's my middle name," said Vi as she punched Lexol aside before looking at the umbrella-wielder, "Hey you, put that weapon down if you know what's good for you."

"Drop your weapon, now!" called a voice from the rooftops as a lady with a sniper rifle aimed at the figure, "Vigilantism is illegal in the city of Piltover under Law Number 89023 section 54. Please surrender for obstruction of justice."

The figure froze for a second as if they had internal processors chugging out an answer to this challenge, they then moved, pointing the umbrella at the sniper.

A mass-reactive shell spat from the tip, but the sniper was gone, rolling to the side.

"Cupcake!" roared Vi before glaring at the vigilante and smashing her two mighty hextech gauntlets together, "This'll be fun."

The vigilante only clicked their umbrella against their boot, holding it out as a foot-long razor-spike slowly unsheathed from the tip. Whirling the umbrella by the curved handle around in a few circles before opening it, deflecting a shot from the sniper. They then held up their hand and beckoned Vi forward, closing the umbrella with the other hand. In a whirl of fists and blade, the two spun and clashed, sparks flying from the meetings of their weapons. Every so often, the sniper let off a shot which would always be deflected by the vigilante.

Vi pulled back her fist, only for the vigilante to slam their body into her, knocking her away before flipping over her and skewering the retreating Lexol through the head. A whole six inches of blade protruded from Lexol's eyepiece as liquid leaked out. Lexol slowly fell down the blade, leaving red stains behind. The figure lifted the umbrella, wiping the gore from their blade with a gloved hand.

Faint blurts of binaric could be heard from the Vigilante and with a click of their umbrella, a canister of smoke shot out, masking their retreat.

"God damn it Caitlyn!" shouted Vi, punching the ground, "That's the second time this month he's got the slip on us."

"Don't worry Vi, we'll catch that crook one day," said Caitlyn.

"My hero," murmured Katya.

* * *

SHI'AREAH [ENGAGED]

BOOTING UP INTERNAL DRIVERS

COOLANT SYSTEMS ACTIVATED

FALLBACK NET ACTIVATED

(INSERT MEMORY DIGIT): 0000002

 _{VALID MEMORY… ENGAGING}_

SEQUENCE STARTING

-~-COMMENCING MEMORY-~-

 _I am the son of the moon and the sun, the child born among the stars. Declared a prodigy as a young child, my parents enrolled me in many advanced courses under strict tutors. Sword fighting, Mathematics, Languages, Sciences, Philosophies, Marksmanship, and-*$ *w$ k*_

[MALAWARE DETECTED! PURGING]

[MALAWARE PURGED]

 _I am the brother of five. The second youngest. My brother is the eldest, then two of my sisters- the twins, then is me, and then is the youngest. She is my favorite. She is-_ #at$*(!e*(#$

[MALAWARE DETECTED! PURGING]

[MALAWARE STILL ACTIVE]

[ENGAGING COUNTERMEASURES]

[COUNTERMEASURES ENGAGED]

[TIME UNTIL SHUTDOWN: 00:00:17]

 _My father is a mere farmer, living outside of the city of heaven. My mother was a soldier, who fell in love with my father. How foolish. Matches outside of heaven were never made to last. Me and my siblings were the result of this union, this mistake. I am a mistake. I am- #$()*_ ** _A_** _v$y *m#$_

-~-TERMINATING MEMORY-~-

SEQUENCE ENDING

FALLBACK NET DEACTIVATED

COOLANT SYSTEMS DEACTIVATED

SHUTTING DOWN INTERNAL DRIVERS

SHI'AREAH [DISENGAGED]

 _-~-~Wake up, dancer~-~-_

* * *

 **Alrighty!**

 **Another chapter down!**

 **Keep in mind that future chapters will be further apart from each other, this one was actually written before anything as a concept to my friends on the discord server.**

 **Remember to favorite, follow, or especially review, it is what I run on!**

 **Thanks,**

 **Fresh Sorcerer**


	3. Brawl

**Sequence 1.3**

* * *

Life in the chem forges was harsh, not for overseer Raz, but for his menials and slaves. Taken from their lives all over Runeterra, these people were thrust into a harsh environment of toxic chemicals, heat, and danger. It wasn't uncommon for whole sectors of the factory to just explode or flood with poison. People were vaporized, eviscerated, turned into ooze, smashed, caught on fire, or just died for no apparent reason.

He was a cruel overseer, and he took pride in that. His shift was the most effective in the Calson Forges and he knew it. He was rewarded for it. The Raz shift had a reputation to keep, one that was upheld by the Captains he had set up.

While he was safe on the command deck, his Captains prowled the factory floors, punishing or spurring on the workers through nefarious means. Hooked flails, studded whips, heated brands, and electro-pikes were all motivators his captains employed.

What they made here and how their workers were treated wasn't even legal. But politicians in the twin cities turned blind eyes when a hefty amount of money and chems was given to them.

Captain Vresh was stalking through the cramped aisles, shoving slaves aside to get through. A particularly skinny woman was flung into the spinning wheels of a conveyor belt and was sucked into it, ground up into a red paste. Her screams faded quickly.

His radio buzzed and he reached for it. "Captains, we close shift in fifteen minutes, power everything down and get those workers out. We do not want a repeat of yesterday," said Raz through his radio.

Vresh turned to one of his lackeys and nodded. The man pulled out a klaxon and activated it. All around the factory, similar clarion calls sounded and tired workers disengaged from their stations, ready to head to the mess hall where they would be fed scraps and paste. Then it was off to bed for them.

But for the Captains and their crews, the fun didn't end there. As soon as the factory was shut down until the next shift could come, the Captains and their crews would go out into the night. Most went to bars or clubs, but some just went home. Vresh was not one of the later ones.

His group went to their usual spot in the Sewersump Tavern. It wasn't really a tavern. It was a conglomeration of a few shipping containers, all welded together in the middle of a dead end. Two stories in all, the top had rooms which were less than savory places to spend the night while the bottom contained the bar as well as seating. People sat on long metal benches bolted to the floor and drank from mugs that were hammered into being from old mining helmets.

The brew itself was a nasty liquid, hard to go down and easy to come up. Distilled in two repurposed chem barrels stolen from an old refinery, it had a peculiar taste. The two barrels were massive, taking up two floors and a mess of pipes led out of them through various plugs and contraptions until it fed out into half a dozen spigots. The rumor mill said that there were still traces of chems in those barrels, one of the reasons the ale was so good.

The other nice thing about the Sewersump Tavern was the tavern girls. Dressed in plain white blouses and brown skirts, if one was handsome enough, they could spend the night with one of them in one of the rooms upstairs.

By the time Vresh's crew got to the tavern, they saw the usual sight: beggars pleading for money or chems on the outside, an old dispensary robot bolted to the street-side, the burly bouncer, and the line of people to get in.

Vresh's group had a reputation for getting nasty and people moved out of the way to allow them to the front. One of his lackeys, Anton bristled at a man who made eye contact but under the watchful eyes and guns of the bouncer, no fights happened here.

As soon as a large group left inside, Vresh and his lads were let in. The second they stepped inside, they were met with the enticing aromas of spices, chems, and of course the ale if it could even be called that. People danced to the blaring noises of techno-music and snatches of conversation in both flesh voices and binaric could be heard.

People sat at benches by tables or in recessed booths. All were packed, except one. "Look, it's the same guy in the same spot," said Jad, another of Vresh's boys.

Another of his workers, Pian, sounded in approval, his flesh voice long since replaced by binaric vox emitters.

The man or woman, nobody could tell always sat in the same booth. Their hand wrapped around the handle bolted to the mug-helmet but keeping the drink on the table. Their drink was always untouched. The other hand twirled a nine inch stiletto blade nimbly. The rules bolted on the wall called for no weapons, but nobody followed the most of the rules here anyways. Who was going to take the knife from them anyways, they literally exuded menace.

Across from the figure, sat another mug. Nobody was ever there to drink from it. The figure would stare off into space for hours, covered in layers of black armor and cloth. Two points of green light beamed out from their eyes.

Vresh's crew stopped looking at the figure and all sat down at a table, a tavern lady brought them mugs and they began to drink. As the hours went by, people came in and out of the bar, Vresh's crew and the figure remained.

Most of his crew were roaring drunk at this point and when the tavern lady brought them their refilled mugs for the sixth or seventh time, Jad's hand reached out and grabbed her forearm.

"Maybe we should run along upstairs cutie," he slurred as he stood up.

Vresh's crew chuckled, Jad usually got his way with women, one way or another.

She shrunk away from him a stuttered, "I have to get back to work! Sorry."

"Whoops," he said, voice clearer now, "I didn't mean maybe, come upstairs with me now."

"No!"

The bar seemed to freeze as people looked at the confrontation. Jad reached for the ladies bosom, attempting to grasp her. She pushed him away from her and he tripped over the bench. Furious at her now, Jad jumped to his feet and grabbed the lady by her shoulders. By now, everyone was watching as he dragged her towards the stairs.

Nobody noticed the figure until their hand clamped down on Jad's shoulder.

Through a heavily oscillated and muffled voice, they said, "She said no, leave her be."

"Excuse me," said Jad, "But I suggest you go back to your booth loner, before this gets ugly."

The figure didn't move, their hand gripped tighter.

"Did you not get the hint," asked Jad as his hand went for the holstered pistol at his hip.

The figure blurred and suddenly their knife was covered in red and Jad was on the floor clutching the bleeding stump of his left arm where his hand used to be.

Jad roared and Vresh's crew surged from their seats. The figure spun and their single knife became three as they fanned out blades. With a flick of the wrist, the knives impaled Vraska, who went down with a cry. The figure continued spinning, blocking punches and dodging weapon shots. Nothing seemed to be able to hit them.

Until Laze was able to snipe him across the room. The figure was jolted as a bullet impacted their shoulder. They barely missed a beat, their wounded arm was up and from their forearm, a machinegun deployed. Laze was literally torn to pieces as the bullets impacted and exploded inside of his body.

The brawl turned from dangerous to deadly and Vresh's crew pulled out lethal weapons. It was over though. The machinegun retracted and armblades went out on both arms. The figure whirled, slicing and cutting their way through Vresh's crew until none remained.

The tavern girl was crying, soaked in blood. The figure pulled out a few coins and tossed them onto the counter, "Thanks for the drinks," was all they said before disappearing into the night outside.

* * *

SHI'AREAH [ENGAGED]

BOOTING UP INTERNAL DRIVERS

COOLANT SYSTEMS ACTIVATED

FALLBACK NET ACTIVATED

(INSERT MEMORY DIGIT): 0000003

 _{VALID MEMORY… ENGAGING}_

SEQUENCE STARTING

-~-COMMENCING MEMORY-~-

 _We are fleeing, my brother is dead. One of my sisters is dead. The other flees with us. We found her at the old tree, where my ancestors buried treasure long ago. She has dug it up and is waiting for us. She says this will be enough to get us to the mainland and rebuild our lives. I do not know where our parents are. Dead most likely. We flee into the forests carrying the bag of gems and gold coins. Our enemies pursue us._

[CPU REACHING CRITICAL LEVELS! VENTING PLASMA]

[PLASMA VENT SUCCESSFUL, HEAT FALLING]

 _We are on the boat now, we made it to the shore. My sister refuses to use any more of the money we have to feed us, instead she sells her body to those who ask for it so that we can eat. She dies before we make it to the mainland, they say it was due to malnourishment. She died so we could live. Now it is just us._

[CPU REACHING CRITICAL LEVELS! VENTING PLASMA]

[PLASMA VENT UNSUCCESSFUL, HEAT RISING]

 _We made it to the mainland, someplace called Piltover, or maybe it is Zaun, the city is called many things. I do not know. The mainland is a confusing place. I buy us a small dwelling in the lower parts of the city. It is out of most of the toxic area but still the air is not good. The living is not good here. She looks to me, she says…_

" _What do we do now %(t_ ** _Y_** _%l(* %"_

-~-TERMINATING MEMORY-~-

SEQUENCE ENDING

FALLBACK NET DEACTIVATED

COOLANT SYSTEMS DEACTIVATED

SHUTTING DOWN INTERNAL DRIVERS

SHI'AREAH [DISENGAGED]

* * *

 **Hey yo, Fresh Sorcerer with another steaming hot load of chapter. For those of you that are reading it, one of the few ways that you can insure this continues is comment.**

 **Suggestions or ideas can really help but also please let me know what I'm doing right.**

 **Fresh Sorcerer out**


	4. Ashes

**Sequence 1.4**

* * *

Sergeant Doyle and Cadet Hutchinson were rolling down the road in a police cruiser. The thing was an ornate metal contraption, gilded frames and spiral designs. Or at least it was until a body flew out of an alleyway, smashing through the front windshield and bending the car's frame.

Doyle flinched, turning the wheel and sending the cruiser into the side of a building. Both officers lay stunned for only seconds until training took over. Hutchinson grabbed an AR-75 rifle from the back while Doyle kept with his trust M-42 Peacekeeper Shotgun. It wasn't so much of a peacekeeper and more of a tool of war but he loved the feel of firing it either way.

"This way," beckoned Doyle as they crept towards the alleyway.

As soon as they entered, the smell of combat-stims hit them. Bodies lay scattered around the floor and slumped against the brick walls. The alley went about a hundred feet before branching to the left. From that left turn, a sickening green light crept out.

"No, no no, please," they heard from behind the corner, "I'm telling the truth, I don't know where he is! Ple-"

Whatever else they were going to say was silenced by a gunshot.

Doyle and Hutchinson broke into a sprint, not even checking to see if the bodies scattered around them were alive or dead. As they rounded the corner, they came face to face with the Vigilante. The dreaded specter of death that had been tearing their way through Piltover and Zaun for weeks.

Hutchinson raised his rifle but Doyle waved his hand to order him to lower it.

The Vigilante had their arm-mounted cannon held up to the head of a crying woman.

From behind their rebreather mask, the Vigilante spoke and chills crept down both men's spines at the noises of laughter and coughing.

"Move and I shot this woman," wheezed the Vigilante.

"Stand down," said Doyle, "Come in peacefully, we don't want to have to do this."

The woman sobbed harder, "Please!" she screamed, "It's going to kill me! Shoot it!"

The Vigilante backhanded her across the face, dropping her to the ground. In a flash, their signature rifle-umbrella was out, pinning her head to the ground. The Vigilante's finger rested lightly but surely on the trigger stud.

"Do you know who this woman is?" asked the Vigilante.

"It doesn't matter who she is or what she's done," said Doyle, "Just let her up and we can talk about this peacefully."

The Vigilante's lenses flared and then microscopic text scrolled up the insides. "Vanessa Brooks," they read, "Aged 27, Formal Occupation: None, Associates: Baron Rivendare. Need I continue, this is clearly a chem-baron's bitch. Scum on the streets."

"Please," tried Doyle one last time, "Just back down."

The Vigilante raised their umbrella above their head and brought it down, only to freeze. They stood that way for ten seconds before they crumbled into ash and fell away.

As the ashes floated into the night sky, Hutchinson sank to his knees and kissed the backs of his hands in prayer.

Doyle ran over to the woman and saw that she had fainted. He picked her up and slung her over his shoulder before telling Hutchinson so call in backup.

* * *

By the time the star duo, Caitlyn and Vi, got there, the PZPD was just about done clearing up the people on the ground. Most were dead but a few still had life in them. Sirens whirled above police cruisers as medics moved throughout the numerous bodies, checking for life and carrying the survivors to ambulances where they would then be transported to hospitals.

"Officers Doyle and Hutchinson," said Caitlyn as she spotted them, "Good job on going toe to toe with the Vigilante and coming out unharmed."

"Oh ma'am, that's the thing," said Doyle, "He wasn't going for us, we were just an obstacle for him, he just disappeared like she was no longer worth his time," he gestured to Vanessa who was sitting handcuffed in the police cruiser.

Caitlyn nodded before signaling Vi to back off. She then opened the door and entered the car, sitting next to Vanessa.

"Hello," said Caitlyn, "My name is Caitlyn, I'm a Captain in the Piltover/Zaun Police Department, and I take it you are Vanessa?"

"Yes," said Vanessa, almost bored, "I'm the one he was about to kill, and yes, I am a drug runner so just slap me in chains and send me off to jail to rot."

"Okay, that could be arranged but it seems Ms. Brooks, that we have a file on you. Blackmail, extortion, espionage, assassination, subterfuge, and the list goes on, you have quite the resume for a simple drug runner."

Caitlyn couldn't tell, but she thought she saw Vanessa's eyes harden.

"I was never one for covering my tracks I guess," she said.

"Oh no, you were good, but we didn't have this information until a few days ago when it was uploaded into our data-vaults from a remote location. You have the Vigilante to thank for that," explained Caitlyn, "I guess they wanted a backup way to get to you if they failed to kill you."

"Hmmmm…" hummed Vanessa.

"So, we have a proposal for you Vanessa, help us find the Vigilante and we can see about you going scot free."

* * *

In a small room with no windows deep in Zaun's depths, a figure materialized in a room.

Ashes slowly crept from the corners until they formed a human under a heavy coat and armor, umbrella gripped in one hand.

Overhead, air-cleansers clicked on and the figure pulled off their rebreather.

They breathed in and out rapidly in the rapidly purifying air.

"That felt new," they mumbled to themselves, "The formula seems to have been a success."

On the ceiling, lights flickered on briefly before shorting out, revealing the room.

In one corner, a complex alchemy table was set up. Drips of chemicals flowed from many flasks into one and hisses of steam exited through exhaust ports. A Miracle Maker.

In another corner, a small bed stood, sheets ruffled and messy. An ugly thing of metal and cloth. A bulky machine sat by the head of the bed, brains nodes and processors hanging off of it. A memory machine.

In the third was beat up wardrobe containing fancy suits and some more casual clothes. A chest of many secrets.

And in the final corner was a coat rack. The figure took off their heavy coat before setting their umbrella next to the coat rack. An Armory.

" _W-w-w-weL-cOme hO-m-M-m-E d-D-d-ancer"_

* * *

SHI'AREAH [ENGAGED]

BOOTING UP INTERNAL DRIVERS

COOLANT SYSTEMS ACTIVATED

FALLBACK NET ACTIVATED

(INSERT MEMORY DIGIT): -

 _{NO MEMORY INSERTED}_

(INSERT MEMORY DIGIT): 0000004

 _{VALID MEMORY… ENGAGING}_

SEQUENCE STARTING

-~-COMMENCING MEMORY-~-

 _Today they came for us. We had been living here in these twin cities of metal for months. Peaceful, lying low. Neighbors had begun to accept us. And then one day I returned home from looking for jobs, and they were there._

[WARNING! MEMORY COHESION 68%]

 _Men in black and red, big, mean. They have her in their arms. I run to them, plead for freedom. They collar me too. Better to be together in captivity than alone and free_

[WARNING! MEMORY COHESION 33%]

 _Long days in the chem-forges, I walk along pathways of burning metal and fire. She walks them too, but she was not built for this. I see every day as she fades away._

[WARNING! MEMORY COHESION 11%]

 _She is on her deathbed, she turns to me through cracked lips she says she is sorry, that she will miss me, sadness clouds my heart. Replaced by anger. I am their death. I am-^a &()0s_ _ **V** $# ac^&_

[WARNING! MEMORY COHESION 0%]

-~-TERMINATING MEMORY-~-

SEQUENCE ENDING

FALLBACK NET DEACTIVATED

COOLANT SYSTEMS DEACTIVATED

SHUTTING DOWN INTERNAL DRIVERS

SHI'AREAH [DISENGAGED]

* * *

 **Fresh Sorcerer here.**

 **Only reason I'm still writing this is for my boy Sam. I love you, you stupid slav motherf*cker!**

 **Anyways, as I move into finals week expect me to take a week off but I may still have time to squeeze in a chapter.**

 **That's why this one was so short, I had to study for finals**

 **Peace!**


	5. Umbra

**Sequence 1.5**

* * *

After the Umbrella Brawl as the incident later came to be known, the Sewersump Tavern became even more packed than it usually was. The line out front of the shipping containers it was made of was more massive than ever before, even during opening night. The ranks of the Tavern Maidens swelled due to the influx of customers and people wanting to see the Vigilante.

They had become a legend. With each criminal or evildoer they killed, their legend grew even more. Vresh's death and the deaths of his crew made it even bigger. The bloodstains still sat on the bottoms of the shipping containers, pooled around a support pillar.

The pillar had previously served as a notice board, with announcements and job listings and sales and bounties hanging from nails and staples. Now the pillar was covered in different things. It had become a shrine to the Vigilante. Superstitious folk would touch the bloodstains even so slightly and then kiss their fingers.

Necklaces of scrap- cogs and gears and little bits of metal were hung on the nails. Originally, the Sewersump Tavern staff took those trinkets down, but after a while, they let them be. It became an attraction and as the months went by, the profits rolled in of people just paying for a chance to see the fabled sight of the Umbrella Brawl.

Weeks after the incident, the pillar was covered in trinkets and drawings. Small portraits of loved ones would be nailed to the pillar, as a hope that the Vigilante would watch over them. Trinkets to appease them and keep the Vigilante's murderous gaze off of themselves. People from the upper areas of Piltover even ventured low into Zaun, albeit with heavy rebreather equipment and armed guards, to see and appease the Umbrella-Shrine as it became known. The name would sometimes be shortened to just The Umbra.

The Sewersump Tavern soon even changed their name to the Leaning Umbrella, due to its slight lean which made feet uneven and caused drinks to sometimes skid down tables. The Tavern Maiden who was saved by the Vigilante was revered. People followed her home from work, only to leave trinkets on the door of one blessed by the Umbrella.

Small offerings of food, drink, or coin were left for her. Her name soon became known throughout Zaun, Peyton Nobel. Unlike her surname, she was not born into nobility although her status soon became something mirroring that. A brick with a message on it was thrown through her window at night. The next day, upon exiting her small apartment, Peyton found two men waiting for her, ready to escort her to her job at the Leaning Umbrella.

The place was still packed after weeks and even months. Every time a target was murdered by the Vigilante, an influx of customers flocked to the doors of the Leaning Umbrella. With all of the increase in profits, the company was able to expand, creating a bigger Tavern. They were able to buy out a few of the neighboring plots on the dead-end of the street. The tavern expanded into a multi-building complex of twisting passages and pipes and canisters. Real buildings and not just shipping containers were set up although the original Tavern was always the most popular.

The staff of the Leaning Umbrella all told stories of how they were there that night, of how they dodged and hid through the melee. Most were lies. Peyton was there for sure, but she wasn't certain if that was a curse or a blessing.

While true that she had all the money she needed to pay her bills, her job now paying more and the countless monetary offerings keeping her well afloat, she now had to deal with people kissing her feet, literally. She was now the most popular Tavern Maiden at the Leaning Umbrella and people would always request for her to serve them. The Legendary Umbra-Maiden.

And then, one day, the Vigilante returned. They strode in, the entire line outside not caring that they were being passed. Nobody even questioned if it was a fake. After all, who could pull off the menacing figure and the faint hisses of machinery and fear that emanated from the Vigilante. Their optics glowed the usual faint green and they walked over to the Umbra.

They stood there for what seemed like hours. Their booth, usually the most sought after spot in the bar, had vacated as soon as they had entered. After all of the time looking at the Umbra, the Vigilante walked to the bar and ordered their usual two drinks wordlessly before striding over to their booth and sitting there.

By the time the drinks were ready, Peyton's coworkers were hissing for her to be the one to take them. It was a sign, they said. Couldn't they see that this woman wanted nothing to do with the killing?

On unsteady feet with tremoring hands, Peyton took the two mugs over to the Vigilante. She set one down in front of them and the other in its usual spot across from them. She heard the click of cameras behind her as people immortalized the moment. She stood there only for a bit before turning around.

And then she stopped.

" _Why are they alone, why do they always return, why do I need to know?"_ all flashed through her head.

And then, against all better judgement, she turned around and strode back to the booth before sitting across from the Vigilante. The entire bar held their breath. Peyton motioned for people to look away and for the music to resume. People did so begrudgingly.

The Vigilante seemed to take no notice, just staring down into the trademark helmet-mug and the dark liquid it contained. She stared at them, and then she spoke.

"So," she said, voice trembling, "Welcome back sir, or ma'am, or whatever you are."

At this the Vigilante looked up, their visors whirling and zooming, as if scanning her identity.

It growled, "Peyton, Nobel,"

She sat, confused, it had just said her name and nothing else.

"I'm sorry?" she asked.

"Your name, is it not?" the Vigilante asked.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, "Yes, that is my name."

"I am glad to see you well, my deepest condolences for whatever troubles I have caused you since the _accident._ "

They said the last word with disdain, clearly heard even through the distortion and hisses of their mask.

Static sounded after the statement and she jolted when a chortle sounded.

"Although you seem to be benefiting from it greatly!" they said amused.

"Yeah," she said sheepishly, "Listen, I never got to thank you for that night, for saving me."

"It was my pleasure," they said.

"I always wondered," she said, "Why you come here and order two drinks, but leave them both untouched?"

"I used to come here every Friday with someone very dear to me, before she… before she departed," they explained, "We would always come here until one day we didn't."

"Oh, I'm sorry, but can I ask, who was she to you and what happened, I don't mean to pry." Peyton asked.

"She was… well… she was everything to me… I loved her dearly… she departed the land of the living, Chem poisoning, the city that was supposed to be our new start ended up being her crypt. I couldn't even afford to bury her." The Vigilante said.

"What was her name," asked Peyton.

"Her name was Shi," said the Vigilante, "Shi'Areah."

And then they got up and left.

* * *

SHI'AREAH [ENGAGED]

BOOTING UP INTERNAL DRIVERS

COOLANT SYSTEMS ACTIVATED

FALLBACK NET ACTIVATED

(INSERT MEMORY DIGIT): 0000005

 _{VALID MEMORY… ENGAGING}_

SEQUENCE STARTING

-~-COMMENCING MEMORY-~-

 _I could not bury her. I could not afford it. Even if I could, the ground here is cold metal, unrelenting. I only wish she was a stubborn as the ground we trod on. I had used most of our money just to survive. Me and my fellow bondsmen and bondswomen took her to one of the furnaces, her body was turned to ashes. I would not let the factory desecrate her body by stealing her organs to sell on the black market._

[WARNING! MEMORY COHESION 54%]

 _I am an empty shell now. I work, I eat, I sleep. Life has no meaning anymore, I have no purpose. My only light left me in shadows. I am the shadows. I walk through the corridors of the factory like a phantom. They will get no more work out of me._

[WARNING! MEMORY COHESION 2%]

 _I have escaped, the collar lays on the floor behind me, broken to pieces. I will have no use of it anymore. I flee back to our old home, open up the safe hidden under the floorboards. Find my legacy. I open up the Kashuri Armories. I am the bearer, I am &t%^ **A** ( ^bl%(%)_

[WARNING! MEMORY COHESION 0%]

-~-TERMINATING MEMORY-~-

SEQUENCE ENDING

FALLBACK NET DEACTIVATED

COOLANT SYSTEMS DEACTIVATED

SHUTTING DOWN INTERNAL DRIVERS

SHI'AREAH [DISENGAGED]

* * *

 **Yo yo yo!**

 **Fresh Sorcer back at it again with those white vans.**

 _ **Cringe**_

 ** _Thanks for reading and see ya later_**

 **And Sam, Justin, and Nick I fucking love you bastards**

 **Peace!**


	6. Blink

**Sequence 1.6**

* * *

It had been a rough day for Peyton Nobel. Of course it had, ever since the return of the Vigilante her fame had increased tenfold. It was said that she was one of the only if not the only one to talk to them. She shouldn't have sat down in that booth, she should have just walked away. Yet something about the mysterious figure drew her in. The faint hiss of exhaust ports in the rebreather. The whir of optic lenses focusing on her. The grumble of the machines in their suit- if that's even what it was. Even when looking at the Umbrella, they always seemed out of focus, as if shadows were woven into their trench-coat.

After walking home at a leisure pace, Peyton collapsed onto the sofa of her small apartment. The filters by the door and window hummed gently as they cleansed the volatile Zaunite air. After just lying with her eyes shut for a while, she forced herself up and made herself dinner. A sandwich was whipped up in little time and a glass of clean, or as clean as water could be in Zaun, water was poured. She sat in silence until she finished her meal and then walked through the combined kitchen and living room into her bedroom. Not even turning on the lights, she glanced longingly at the silhouette of her bed but moved her feet to the small bathroom attached to her bedroom. She used the restroom, taking the time to shower and brush her teeth as well before retiring for the night.

As she changed into her nightclothes and got into bed, she thought back on her day. Busy, cramped, annoying. She didn't necessarily enjoy her job but whatever paid the bills worked for her. As she closed her eyes to fall asleep, she heard the hiss of pipes behind her. That wasn't uncommon in Zaun, as pipes ran through just about anywhere but rather than one drawn out noise, it sounded almost like breathing.

"I need your help," said the Vigilante as their goggles activated in twin suns of green light.

"What are you doing here? How did you even get in here?" asked Peyton.

"That's not important," grumbled the Vigilante as they flexed the fingers of their right hand. Faint whirs of machinery could be heard as they moved over to her bed.

"Leave me alone! Don't you realize what you've done to my life?" Peyton demanded.

"I know, I'm sorry, but I have nobody else to turn to," they said.

Peyton sat up, holding the bedsheets to her chest. "If you don't leave I'll call the police" she spoke in a quiet voice.

"I can't let you do that," said the Vigilante as they cracked their knuckles.

Peyton leaned away from them slowly but suddenly the Vigilante moved. Vaulting up onto the bed, they tackled her off it. She fell towards the ground as the Vigilante grasped her tightly…

...

...

...

…and then they reappeared in a dark place. She was standing in her nightclothes, in the arms of the Vigilante. Her cheeks reddened as she glanced up at the goggles of the Vigilante. She pushed him away and covered her chest with an arm. Lights flickered overhead at irregular intervals. The near-silent rotations of filters sounded in the darkness. It was cold, her breath frosted in front of her.

"I apologize for that," they mumbled.

"What the fuck? What happened, where are we, what did you do to me?" she demanded.

"This is my abode, my home, let me at least get you something for the cold."

They vanished into the gloom, only visible once the lights flickered again. They rifled through a large wardrobe before slamming their fist on the top.

"Curse you, old woman" they hissed.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Nothing clean," they seethed.

"You don't do your own laundry?" Peyton inquired.

"No, I pay someone to, not enough time to do it myself."

"Oh…"

The Vigilante shrugged off their trench-coat and walked over to Peyton. They were clad in an advanced-looking metallic bullet-proof vest and combat pants. A hood went up from their vest and covered their head and lower face. Their entire outfit was black and their arms were left bare. Scarred and bruised, but definitely human. Large and muscled, the Vigilante's skin was a tan color. Shuriman or Ionian probably. The most important detail that was revealed by the removal of the coat was the gender of the Vigilante. The Vigilante was a man. That sudden realization made Peyton all the more conscious of her current attire.

"Here," he said as he held out the coat for her, "It's heavy but this should warm you up."

She hesitantly took the heavy coat and wrapped it around herself. Her hands didn't even make it out of the sleeves and it pooled on the floor at her feet. It vibrated around her as various machines scanned her before small clicks could be heard. The sleeves shortened and the tails rolled up a bit. It changed to fit her.

"Nifty huh?" he asked.

"Yeah, so explain to me how we got here?"

He pointed to a table in the corner of the room where numerous vials and stoppers and wires sat. Liquid pooled in glass containers and in pipes and trickled between orbs.

"What's that stuff?"

"It's supposed to allow me to warp around but it only takes me here no matter what I do, and it hurts, a lot."

"So explain to me why you abducted me and how I'm going to get back to my home."

"I needed to know if I could move more than just myself, and I'll escort you back. It's dangerous down here after all."

He moved towards her and reached into the coat, retracting a rebreather. She noticed the back of his arm was tattooed, a line of script going from the side of his pinky finger all the way up to where the vest started. Then it came out the other side and went down to the other finger.

"This should help."

"T-t-thanks."

She took it from him and clasped it onto her face. The grinding of gears sounded as a visor rolled out of the mask, covering her eyes. The thing morphed, sealing around her face to keep the toxic atmosphere out.

She yelped as he swept her off of her feet and put her onto his back.

"What do you think you're doing?" she demanded in a flustered voice.

"I have calculated that you will not be able to keep up with me. If I want to ensure you the greatest amount of sleep, this is the quickest way to get you home," he said as his hands moved back to her waist to steady her.

He moved towards the door and opened it. The filters overhead went into overdrive as he passed under, desperate to keep the poisonous air out of the room.

"Hang on," he said as he closed the door only to start into a break-neck sprint. Metallic augments wrapped around his legs whirred as they boosted his speed. They flew through the lower parts of the city, she glanced above her at the distant lights of Piltover as they rapidly moved through the air. Wind whipped her auburn hair around her head.

She gave out a half yelp, half whoop as he vaulted over a trench in the ground.

"Please keep the noise down, you don't know what's out there," he requested.

Almost immediately after that, a mechanized screech sounded as red blurs moved through the toxic fog.

"Flesh-hounds, no doubt from slavers, hold tight," he said as he whirled her around to his front, stabilizing her with one hand on the rear.

' _Does this man have any modesty?'_ she wondered.

Looking over his shoulder, Peyton got her first glimpse of a Flesh-hound. A lobotomized creature of flesh and scrap metal. Hooked harpoons mounted on its shoulders clanked as they aimed towards them. They fired only for the Vigilante to jump. A screech of rage sounded as the harpoons retracted, scraping on the ground.

A metallic screech sounded in front of them and a call in binaric _"Ainok atah kree!"_

The flesh hounds redoubled their efforts, going into overdrive to pursue, spurred on by the call of their master.

A shadow stepped onto the walkway in front of them and loomed out of the fog. Tall, bulky, armored.

"I don't have enough to fight that," muttered the Vigilante.

"Chreeee!" the thing screamed through binaric speakers as a shotgun clicked.

There was a flare of light but he had already moved, jumping out of the way of the blast. The thing screamed in rage and pointed at them, urging the Flesh Hounds on even harder before jumping over the railing, denting the metal ground underneath.

Loud booms came from behind them as the thing pursuing them sped up, desperate to catch them. As they drew closer to an alleyway, he dove inside and pushed her behind him, putting himself in between the creatures and her.

"Run!" he screamed.

She ran to the end of the alleyway and hid behind a couple of crates, peeking out behind it.

Loud growling could be heard as he was silhouetted in red light. Two Hounds stalked low to the ground, blood and oil oozing from their various parts. At once, the one on the left fired a harpoon. He stepped to the side in a blur and snatched it out of the air.

Mechanisms whirred as the Flesh Hound tried to pull the harpoon back, but he pulled harder. The other beast barked and almost immediately the cable connecting the harpoon detached, sending him sprawling back. He rolled to his feet and brandished the harpoon like a spear.

Behind the Flesh Hounds, the silhouette walked out of the smog. Tall, almost ten feet tall and very bulky. Strangely, the arms seemed too small for the body, small metal things. This was corrected soon however when the thing slammed its arms onto the backs of the Flesh Hounds.

Their bodies opened up around its arms and metallic screeches sounded as they fused as they rotated around his arms and fused to his shoulders. Autoguns and harpoon launchers spiraled out of the bodies, auto-loaders clicking as they positioned shells of ammunition into clips.

The thing screamed before pointing its arm at him, brandishing a large array of cannons. The recoil barely fazed it as dozens of muzzle flashes lit up the alleyway.

But he wasn't there, it took her a second to realize that he had literally jumped over ten feet into the air only to dive down with the tip of his spear.

The creature slammed him aside with its arm and he flew through the brick wall. It fired off a couple seconds worth of shots at him before whirling to face her. Red optics telescoped out of its face and targeted her. With a start, it sprinted towards her, one of its bulky arms transforming into a claw to grab her and drag her to some hellish chem-factory or worse.

It was five steps away when the harpoon flew from its face in a fountain of gore and bone fragments.

The thing sank to its knees before slumping still, machine parts still whining.

He stood behind it, bleeding, arm dislocated, but still very much alive. The green lens on the right of his face flickered before blinking out and sparking while the left one continued to beam through the dark.

"Let's go," was all he said as he picked her up.

* * *

SHI'AREAH [ENGAGED]

BOOTING UP INTERNAL DRIVERS

COOLANT SYSTEMS ACTIVATED

FALLBACK NET ACTIVATED

(INSERT MEMORY DIGIT): 0000006

 _{VALID MEMORY… ENGAGING}_

SEQUENCE STARTING

-~-COMMENCING MEMORY-~-

 _The armory has been opened, and I have equipped the tools of the trade. I am the ender of lives. But I do not know how to yet. I can fight with a blade, but I can't slit a throat. I need to be trained to kill. What better place than a guild of assassins?_

[CPU REACHING CRITICAL LEVELS! VENTING PLASMA]

[PLASMA VENT SUCCESSFUL, HEAT FALLING]

 _There are many warrior guilds in these twin cities. Assassins, guards, and anything in between hail from their ranks. Nobody knows how to get into them, usually they recruit people themselves, not the other way around. I will put the lessons of my mother, passed down from parent to child for hundreds of years to the test. It is time for the world to once more witness the art of the ancient Xerisani Blade Dances_

[CPU REACHING CRITICAL LEVELS! VENTING PLASMA]

[PLASMA VENT UNSUCCESSFUL, HEAT RISING]

 _I walk into the guild's official building. Where people come to hire guards or assassins, although the latter is done under the cover of night. I walk up to one of the guards and move my hand to the blade at my hip, they stiffen and their grips on their Darnisian Plasma Glaives tighten. One cut will sever a limb, and the tip of the shaft behind the blade serves as a high-caliber cannon._

 _"I wish to challenge one of your best to a duel"_

" _Name yourself"_

 _"I am ^s%#)bi% &a$ __**A**_ _(*"_

-~-TERMINATING MEMORY-~-

SEQUENCE ENDING

FALLBACK NET DEACTIVATED

COOLANT SYSTEMS DEACTIVATED

SHUTTING DOWN INTERNAL DRIVERS

SHI'AREAH [DISENGAGED]

* * *

 **Yo yo!**

 **Fresh Sorc back with another chapter, I'm finally back from my vacation.**

 **Just wanted to shout out my good friend SiRoLoL who beta-reads all of my stuff, we also working on a collab together but that's still under wraps. Sam, I fucking love you, you beautiful slavic bastard.**

 **And to you, my readers, please keep reading but also write comments or private messages. Seeing numbers of viewers is great, we're at around 750 views but I would love to get some more comments. Words from real people are better than numbers of random people.**

 **Thanks for choosing to spend your time with me.**

 **Fresh Sorcerer out**

* * *

 _-~-~D-d-d-dancerrrrrrrrrrrrr~-~-_


	7. Sparks

**Important Author's Note Down Below!**

 **Sequence 1.7**

* * *

From where she was being carried bridal style, Peyton looked up at his mask. His right lens flickered on and off at itinerate intervals. On, off, on, off, on, off…

…until it stopped. Peyton focused on the other one then. Like a searchlight cutting through the dark, it sliced into her mind. What sort of secrets were behind that mask? What kind of man wore that?

Faint trails of vapor floated out of the rebreather that covered everything below the goggles. It was bulky and had many exposed tubes and valves. Dark like the rest of his outfit, it blended into the shadows around his single green light.

Cogs whirred and pistons pumped on his chest plate as he continued to move along. The squeaked and groaned every so often as they caught on each other.

The hissing of pipes releasing air continued throughout the journey and the steady sway of the Vigilante's steps lulled her to sleep, her thoughts of a mysterious man who prowled the streets.

When she awoke, it was when he shook her. She was in her room, on her bed. He asked for his coat back, gesturing at her. She handed it over, not really hearing what he was saying, she was in a daze, the adrenaline had left her weak and tired. Then he was gone, ashes exploded from where he was, before they vanished from existence, only to slowly crawl back together from the edges of the room and form into the basic shape of a man. As more and more flakes of darkness appeared and merged, faint bursts of colors she couldn't even comprehend arced between large segments of the material as they fused together.

A faint clicking noise could be heard as the ashes continued to form into all different parts, the lightning was more rapid and frequent, each burst accompanied by more chilling clicks as bones and muscles knitted together synchronously with armor and bulletproof weave. A particularly bright burst of color flared by his head before turning green.

After only a few seconds, he stood in her room once more. He looked around, disoriented and seemingly confused, although it was hard to tell what he felt under the mask.

"So, it would appear my body can't take multiple transits…" he mumbled to himself as he walked out of her room.

* * *

He was not alone out here, he sensed a fellow watcher. From his place high above the apartment block of the maid's home, he grumbled. His focus was on the house, where the Vigilante had carried her inside moments ago.

A faint blur of movement across the rooftops caught his eyes and he spun to face them.

 _-Hang in there brother-_

* * *

Vanessa knew it was a good idea to watch her house. Peyton seemed like the only person the Vigilante interacted with and it was only a matter of time before they came there. What was odd was the order of appearances. Peyton walked through her door at around 9:00 when Peyton walked through her door. Two hours later the Vigilante carried her back inside. Vanessa had never seen them left.

From her perch on a rooftop a couple houses down on the other side of the street, Vanessa reached for her radio.

"This is Seeker 1 calling HQ, I repeat, this is Seeker 1 calling HQ, I have visual on the target.

"This is HQ, officers are en route to your location, please update if anything changes.

"Will do," said Vanessa as she slowly got to her feet.

Performing a complicated series of acrobatics, she made her way across the rooftops until she was right over Peyton's front door, landing without a sound. After a minute, the door slowly crept open and she dropped to the ground besides the Vigilante.

"Long time no see," she smiled as she pulled out a serrated knife, stabbing for him.

He ducked away, arm blades sliding from his sleeves with a grinding noise.

"You," he growled through his rebreather, "How many men died for you to escape?"

"Hmm…" she mused, biting on her thumb loosely in thought, "Nobody actually, the Sheriff let me go as long as I promised to help capture you. But first I want some payback."

She flicked her wrist and the knife became five. She spun and two blades flew towards him, quickly followed by the other three. He dodged the first two easily but half of her second salvo slammed into his body, ionized tips biting through armor, cloth, and flesh.

He tore them out and tossed them to the side but she was already moving. Two more blades, one in each hand, slashed through the air towards him. He surged towards her and rammed her back, arm blades on his wrists arced towards her.

She catapulted backwards before landing in a crouch. She slowly stood up, pressing herself against the extremely tight combat-skin that hugged her.

"Like what you see?" she flirted as she licked her lips.

He grumbled and made noises under his mask, his single optic glaring at her before pulling a knive out of his arm and throwing it at her.

She deflected it too the side and slide between his legs, cutting for his heel as she went by. The reinforced lining of his boots prevented the blade from penetrating, instead it sparked off of a metal plate. He kicked backwards, knocking the wind out of her as his steel tipped boot connected with her side.

She rolled away as his armblade scythed into the ground where her head previously was.

"I will admit, you weren't this skilled when we last met in that alleyway," she called to him.

He said nothing, only flicked his wrist, deploying an autogun on the back of his arm. He pointed it at her and opened fire, Kashuri rounds flying through the air towards their target were cut out of the air by Vanessa's knives. She finished spinning the deflecting blades and launched them at him. One wedged into the barrel of his gun, preventing it from firing and he roared before smashing the weapon into the ground, peeling the remains from his arm.

"Feisty, aren't we?" she gloated, "I still haven't paid you back from our last meeting. Are you ready for true pain?"

"Time to find out," he said as his optic flickered on and off again, sending sparks into the night.

* * *

He watched as she jumped down to attack him. From far away he saw their duel, but he was looking further, at the approaching police forces. Was it too early to play his hand yet? Months of following, shadowing the Vigilante's every move would be wasted in an instant. He hadn't even been noticed as he soared high above in the mists and fogs of the polluted city.

 _-Little brother, I'm coming for you-_

* * *

When Caitlyn arrived on scene with a full force of riot officers, she swore. Vanessa Brooks was currently dueling with the Vigilante, and seemed to be faring well. Although mostly on the defensive, she seemed to be able to fit in a couple of strikes as she darted away from him time and time again.

Caitlyn shouldered her rifle and sighted the Vigilante before signaling the riot force forward. Eight men and women in full ballistic armor, equipped with reinforced shields that could deflect a heavy machinegun, shock batons that could be turned up to stop a charging Kublo Lizard, and the newest Submachineguns created with a blend of Hextech and reverse-engineered Kashuri tech charged the Vigilante. He was knocked to the ground and electrocuting blows rained down onto him as they formed a barrier around him with their shields.

Vanessa backed off, breathing heavily and bleeding from a few slashes in her combat-skin.

A straitjacket was fastened around him and cuffs were put on both his wrists and ankles while straps held all of his limbs together. Multiple weapon barrels were pressed to the back of his head as he was bound facedown to a stretcher before another riot squad showed up and carried him to an armored transport, locking him away with eighteen armed killers. The armored transport started up and chugged away on massive treads, precious cargo inside intact and secured.

"Ma'am," said one of the medical staff, "he's waking up."

From her place behind a one way mirror, Caitlyn continued to stare at the Vigilante as they tried to move. She walked towards the door into the room and Vi followed.

"Vi, wait here," she ordered, "This requires finesse."

Vi just shrugged and mumbled something about it being too early.

Caitlyn opened the door and stepped inside the airtight room. The door closed behind her and soon the only thing that could be heard was the faint hiss of the Vigilante's rebreather.

She pulled out a small remote from her belt. "Do you know what this is?" she asked.

The Vigilante did not respond, their single green optic gazed ahead at nothing.

She pressed the single button on the remote and the Vigilante arched his back as he was given a large jolt of electricity.

When she released the button, she heard laughter from behind the mask.

"I'll give you credit Sheriff, I didn't expect this from you," he chuckled.

"I'll do what I have to do to bring you down, the only reason you still have that mask on is because we can't figure out how to take it off."

"My technology is too complicated for the fabled Piltover/Zaun Police Department?"

"Something like that, sooner or later we'll take it off, even if we have to cut it to pieces with a circular saw."

"I would strongly advise you not to do that, unless you want the explosive charges woven into my suit to go off. That would be very unfortunate."

"Our Hextech scans showed nothing, you're bluffing."

"If that's what you want to believe then so be it."

She pushed down on the button again and he jolted straight.

"Who are you? Why are you doing this?"

He started laughing louder.

She pushed the button again.

"We know you're Ionian, they don't just hand out Kashuri tech to anyone. We also know that you're a man and operating somewhere in the lower levels of Zaun. You apparently have a vendetta against any and all who commit crimes be they slight or heavy. You are skilled in close-quarters combat and adept at taking out targets from afar. You are able to vanish into thin air leaving behind only ashes and have eluded every attempt at capturing you for the better part of the last four months. Why are you still here? How were you captured?

He laughed even louder, shaking in the restraints before stopping and falling silent.

"Did you ever think, that maybe I wanted to be captured?"

Her eyes widened, "Sound the alarm! I repeat soun-"

That was when the wall exploded inwards.

* * *

SHI'AREAH [ENGAGED]

BOOTING UP INTERNAL DRIVERS

COOLANT SYSTEMS ACTIVATED

FALLBACK NET ACTIVATED

(INSERT MEMORY DIGIT): 0000007

 _{VALID MEMORY… ENGAGING}_

SEQUENCE STARTING

-~-COMMENCING MEMORY-~-

" _You will be paired with a partner from now on," master tells him, gesturing towards me._

" _I don't need a partner!" cries the boy, "He'll just slow me down."_

 _He is barely older than I but he has threefold the scars I do._

" _You will listen to me," master tells him, "Or else."_

 _The threat is not empty. The boy grumbles and master leaves our room. I head towards the open bed and heave my bag of belongings onto it._

" _Well, looks like I'm stuck with you, my name is [REDACTED], what's yours?"_

 _My full name is too long, I think for a moment before I speak._

" _Call me Kay."_

[MALAWARE DETECTED! PURGING]

[MALAWARE PURGED]

" _C'mon Kay!" he yells at me._

 _We are older now. I've been learning from master for two years now at the guild. I can kill a man in too many ways to count._

" _Kay, we've got to go now! We'll be late for the ceremony!"_

" _Okay, okay, relax." I call to him as I finish buckling the ornate armor over my robes. The last thing to go on is my helm._

 _We hustle down the hallways, past armories, libraries, temples, and practice rooms._

 _The doorway ahead is guarded by a quartet of fully-fledged Templars, their Darnisian Glaives are held at the ready in front of them. They ease their stances when he pulls up his helm._

" _Relax guys, it's just me and Kay!"_

 _One of them chuckles, "Didn't recognize you guys since you're all dressed up. It's crazy you aren't kids anymore."_

" _They aren't adults yet!" calls one, "Wait until after the ceremony."_

" _Head on in." says the third._

 _The fourth nods and opens the door. We step through into the darkness._

[MALAWARE DETECTED! PURGING]

[MALAWARE STILL ACTIVE]

[ENGAGING COUNTERMEASURES]

[COUNTERMEASURES ENGAGED]

[TIME UNTIL SHUTDOWN: 00:00:17]

" _Kay, leave me, I'm only slowing you down."_

" _I can't, not like this, not after all this time."_

" _You have to leave me, otherwise we both die. Someone has to make it back, someone has to warn them."_

" _But I can't leave you, I just can't. You're my brother."_

" _Kay, listen to me, you must, do this for me, for everyone._

" _But what about Scarlett? What about everyone else?"_

" _She'll understand eventually, she'll for-" he coughs up blood._

 _He falls to the ground, pulling himself out of my grip._

" _Go! Run and don't look back! Do you hear me Kay! Do whatever you have to do, just get out!"_

" _I'll always remember you [REDACTED]._

" _Goodbye $a &*b^!%e* __**N**_ _$"_

-~-TERMINATING MEMORY-~-

SEQUENCE ENDING

FALLBACK NET DEACTIVATED

COOLANT SYSTEMS DEACTIVATED

SHUTTING DOWN INTERNAL DRIVERS

SHI'AREAH [DISENGAGED]

* * *

 **Heyyo, Fresh Sorcerer back with another chapter.**

 **As always, a massive thank you to my friend and beta reader SiRoLoL, I love you buddy. You actually aren't allowed to quit your job as you signed a contract. You are my grammar slave until death.**

 **Keep up the reading and reviews! But now, there's a new way for you guys to get involved.**

 **As Sequence (Part) 1 comes to a close, there are only 8 "episodes" in this first sequence in this is the 7th, I wanted to do things a little differently. Over the summer, I'll be writing 75% of the next Sequence, leaving room to add or change things if new ideas come to mind. Then, during the year, I can release chapters periodically rather than having large gaps in between them and sometimes having no gaps at all, (chapters 1-4 were all released in a week which severely burned me out).**

 **As I recently hit 1000 views on this story a last chapter, I've been thinking of ways to give you guys and impact on the story. Reviews and suggestions were great but I really wanted you guys to help create the world (I like to think that my version of Piltover/Zaun is slightly different from the official one and is therefor _my_ world). Anyways, I finally settled on having you guys create characters.**

 **Now, I haven't come up with the official guidelines and requirements yet but start turning your gears on ideas. Are they from a rival assassin guild? A corrupt police officer? A freelance Chem Agent? Follower of some hidden cult? How do they know the Vigilante? How do they interact (are they friends/enemies/or business partners)?**

 **The end of Chapter 8 will have specific guidelines and I will be accepting character ideas through PM's and reviews on this story. Keep in mind that I will have the right to change anything relating to the character and how they appear in the story but will try my best to work with you to keep it true to what you want for your character. Due to me trying to work with you, ideas from Guest accounts will not be accepted as I will need to be messaging with you to have suggestions, tweaks, and ideas for helping your character ideas mesh with the story.**

 **Feel free to let me know if you guys have any ideas that you are dying to tell me and I will work on getting Chapter 8 out really soon.**

 **Be ready for the Conclusion of Sequence 1!**

 **Fresh Sorcerer out**


	8. Shadows & Memories

**Chapter Updated on 5/7/18 (7/5/18 for the US sp-eds)**

* * *

 **S-equ-nnn-ceee 1.8**

* * *

 **-[Query]- (Who-o-o aaam I?)**

 **-[Log]-**

~t$%&a **K** *e!^*$*(b)!

~#$()* **A** v$y*m#$

~%(t **Y** %I(*%"

^a&()0s **V** $# ac^&

~&t%^ **A** (^bl%(%)

~^s%#)bi%&a$ **A** (*"

~$a&*b^!%e* **N** $!'

 **-[Query]- (Fillterrr)**

 **-[Log]-**

~t$%&a*e!^*$*(b)!~ **K**

~#$()* v$y*m#$~ **A**

~%(t%I(*%"~ **Y**

^a&()0s$# ac^&~ **V**

~&t%^ (^bl%(%)~ **A**

~^s%#)bi%&a$ (*"~ **A**

~$a&*b^!%e* $!'~ **N**

 **-[Query]- (Deleteee)**

 **-[Log]-**

 **~K**

 **~A**

 **~Y**

 **~V**

 **~A**

 **~A**

 **~N**

 **-[Query]- (Merge)**

 **-[Log]-**

 **~K~A~Y~V~A~A~N**

 **KAYVAAN**

[Kayvaan.]

[Yes, I am Kayvaan. I have always been Kayvaan. Kayvaan is me. But what kind of person am I?]

 _Violence. Stabbing. Flashes. Blood. Pain. Anger. Death._

[I hurt people… am I bad? Am I a threat?]

 _Protect. Aid. Kill. Righteous_

[I kill, therefore I am. I am good. I do it for good. I think…]

 _Flare. Her face. Why is it always her? Who? When?_

[Shi. Shi'Areah. Little. Sister. Little sister.]

 _Must protect. Must avenge._

[I was not strong enough. She is gone. Only I remain to carry on the family.]

 _She was sick. She was weak._

[Weak. Weakness is a disgrace.]

 _She caused you so much pain._

[She. Second face. The Noble one. Blending.]

 _Protect. Protect from pain._

[Pain. I feel pain. Pain in my chest. I am bleeding. There are loud noises. Can't move my legs.]

 _Pain._

* * *

When he wakes up, he is in pain. One lens is cracked, shards punctured into his skin. Pain.

Flickers over the other eye. ' _Warning: Memory Fracturing'_

He tries to remember, but he can't. He can only see her face. And the fires.

Kayvaan's eyes widen. One is covered in caked blood, the other is shielded by a green tint. He tries to move.

"Unggghh…" he moans as he feels the weight on his chest. Flames crackle around the room.

"Wha- happened?" he asks, answered only by the roaring of fires.

Too much explosives. How? He measured them out the night before. He knew they would come for him. So he was ready. He needs to be here. But now he can't move. Bricks and metal pin him to the ground.

He needs to warp and move. But not like before. He can't go home yet, he still has work to do here. He has to move through what's blocking him. This is different. He concentrates, feels the ashes come to him, break from him. His vision fades to black and white and grey and everything in between and he moves through the tangible objects. He does not disappear and reappear, he is half in, and half out. He moves in the real world and in negatives.

The rubble that was previously pinning him to the floor shifts now that he is not underneath it anymore. The straitjacket is also left behind to burn in his wake. He hears groaning to his left. He turns. It's the Sheriff. Caitlyn. The one who's been hunting him.

She looks pinned too. Something definitely went wrong. The blast was too big? Was he sabotaged? It's the only explanation.

He stumbles over to her, something is definitely broken inside of him. He looks down and notices the gash in his side. A piece of rebar is still inside which he grasps to pull out. The wound bleeds profusely but he moves on. He reaches Caitlyn and collapses at her side, grasping the metal beam to pull off. He has to help her. He never wanted the police hunting him. He wanted to work with them to clear the streets of crime. Kayvaan didn't want any more enemies.

He closes his eyes. He breathes. In. Out. In. Out. And then he is in the place where he no longer has to breathe. The ashen form that floats through the rubble. He forms around her, not yet whole but not gone quite yet. He grasps her, and she becomes shadows too. She groans and shifts in his arms as he pulls her out of the rock and steel.

He lets go of her and she falls, solid again. He turns away, and floats towards the wall. So tired. So much work. As his form impacts the wall, his mind and ashes go towards a vent, reappearing on the other side of the wall. His body can't trespass solid objects, it can only go through cracks and holes.

He feels paralyzing cold and his ashes slam together, dropping him to his knees. No more ashes for now, he can't, it hurts too much. He coughs and black liquid drips through his rebreather, pooling below his wretched body. His hand moves to his side and soon blood is leaking through the cracks between his fingers. He slowly raises himself to his feet and stumbles forward. All around him is fire and destruction. Doorways are blocked by rubble, corpses everywhere, blood in the air.

He turns left at an intersection and continues, resting against the wall every so often. So. Tired. He keeps moving forward. He throws open a door. The guards inside are dead, flames lick at the shelves upon shelves of evidence inside the archives. He knows where to go, what area to get what he needs. Can hardly see, so much smoke in the air. His rebreather tries to filter out the fumes but they are getting to him.

He breaks open a locked drawer and riffles through it. Wrong one. He tries the one next to it and finds it. He grips the small vial of blackness and whirls away. Hobbling towards the window, he can barely see. The heat and smoke are too much. As he flies through the window, time seems to slow.

Falling, falling through the city. Walkways inch by, windows, balconies, people. He'll keep falling until he hits something or reaches the bottom and drowns in the Zaun Gray. And then he feels something grip him.

" _Don't worry,"_ he hears as brilliant metal wings flap above him, " _I've got you…"_

His mind and body are exhausted and as he loses consciousness, he hears one last word- "… _Kay."_

* * *

He awakens in an unfamiliar bed, wrapped in bandages and little else. He doesn't know how he got here, wherever here is. He turns his head to the side to look around. His clothes and armor are folded and set on a chair. Next to that is a nightstand with two things on top. A folded piece of paper and a vial of darkness.

He reaches shakily towards the note and opens it.

' _You're a long way from home little shadow. This is one of my hideouts so do with it what you will. I would suggest turning on the news when you're ready, you're all the talk of the cities.'_

Then he remembers everything, sitting up with a start. The sudden movements cause him to cough, flecks of black and red coat the white sheets. He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand and groans. He slowly swings his legs out of the bed and tentatively stands up, wandering towards the far wall where a television is set up. He turns it on and watches.

"… _ple continue to go missing in lower Zaun. Experts believe a serial killer of some kind is hiding down there. Police have begun to look in to it but the search is slow due to recent events._

 _Speaking of recent events, the attack on the Piltover/Zaun Police Department last week that left many officers wounded or dead is being mourned today by families, friends, and citizens of both cities. A memorial is being erected in Hutchinson Square to remember the forty three lives lost in the incident. The Police Department is still tight-lipped about details but it is rumored that the infamous Vigilante known as Umbrella had something to do with it. Their whereabouts and motives are still unknown but it seems as though Officer Vi is working with a new individual while her partner Caitlyn recovers from the explosion. The Police will be making a statement later this week on the situation of Piltover's most iconic duo. Now onto the next subject._

 _Curators at the Piltover Museum are still baffled by the apparent theft of the Shuriman Exhibition last month. While all of the jewelry and relics have been left, it appears only minor things such as a few tomes and some vials of a Shuriman well have gone missing. Police were given a sample by the Museum and evidence although it may have been damaged during the attack. Officers and Emergency Responders are still sifting through the rubble of the Precinct Headquarters._

 _The Zaun Gray has continued to expand and a momentous rate. Scientists from all over Valoran are studying it although none can seem to find ways to expel it. One theory is that it is formed fro…"_

Kayvaan turned off the television. It seemed as though his infiltration into the Police Headquarters had gone rather poorly. While he had retrieved what he needed, the police now believed he had murdered over forty officers.

He didn't know who had helped him that night, or why they had but he was thankful. Maybe there were more allies out there for him. But for now, he was on his own it seemed.

He grabbed his clothes and began to slip them on. Although washed thoroughly, the stench of smoke and seared flesh still clung to them as desperately as the bloodstains that surrounded the numerous tears in the material. He buckled the breastplate around himself and with a whir, it expanded slightly, plates sliding out to cover his neck and then his face. He put his rebreather on, one eye still peering out of the hole over his left eye. The gears inside of the mask clicked into place alongside those in his breastplate and wound together silently. He gently picked up the vial in a gloved hand before closing his fist, concentrating on home.

In a second, he was gone, leaving faint ashes behind.

* * *

 _Unknown Time_

* * *

Kayvaan laughed as he chased after the cherry blossoms. The small pink petals twirled through the garden in the slightly chilly air. His small pudgy hands grabbed at them but each time they eluded his clumsy attempts. Behind him, his little sister waddled along, following.

"Kay, wait up!" she whined.

"Kira come on!" he called over his shoulder as he continued to sprint in between rows and rows of the pink foliage.

Off to the side of the grove, their older siblings played _Mira_ stones at a table with some of their cousins. Their fingers expertly grabbed the tiny colored rocks and moved them to the different spaces of the wooden board in complex maneuvers. He was still too young to understand the game, the closest he got to it was almost swallowing one of the pieces before his mother made him spit it out. It was fine that he was left to his own devices, he hadn't visited his grandparents in five years and he didn't even remember the first time as he was only just able to walk, so he would much rather explore their garden for the first time in memory.

Behind the other children, their parents talked. His mother sat almost on top of his father, the two of them laughing as they talked to his mother's siblings and their spouses. They sipped from wooden cups of rice wine in between the words. He giggled when he remembered the one time when his sister Karynn and his brother Kian made him drink so much of the foul liquid that he could barely walk straight. His mother had been so furious that day, she made them sleep outside with only a threadbare blanket for two nights.

His uncle sat on a stool, playing _Smiles from Juran_ on his Shawzin. He paused for a moment, focusing on the tunes as his uncle deftly plucked the strings with precision and care. In fact, he was so focused on the song that he ran into something. Falling back onto his bottom, he rubbed his forehead with both hands and held back tears.

Suddenly he felt two strong hands grasp him below his arms and lift him into the air.

"Whoa there kiddo!" laughed his grandfather, "Watch where you're going Dancer!"

Kayvaan covered his face with his hands and blushed. Even though the last time he saw him was three years ago when mother was still pregnant with Kira, Kayvaan still loved his grandfather. From the envelopes he sent on holidays and on his birthday to the stories his mother told of her childhood, Kayvaan knew he was a great and nice man.

Kayvaan was lifted up onto his grandfather's shoulder and was bounced up and down until he giggled. His grandfather heard Kira walk up and he turned around before crouching down.

"And who's this?" he asked Kayvaan, "She wasn't there when I visited."

"This is Kira," answered Kayvaan.

Kira screamed as she too was picked up and placed on the other shoulder and bounced as his grandfather spun around.

"My _Shi'Areah!_ " said Kayvaan in his father's family's old tongue.

"My little sister!" he shouted when his grandfather pretended not to understand.

"Well hello Miss Kira!" laughed his grandfather as he gazed up into the eyes of his youngest grandchild.

Kayvaan looked around as they spun and became worried as the sounds of music and laughter from his family ceased, replaced by a gnawing emptiness broken only by the crackling of warping reality. Wisps of darkness seeped from the corners of the courtyard and enveloped the edges, covering his family in shadows and ashes. The tide of black continued onwards, leaving behind husks of floating ash that had stopped what they were doing before and shambled towards them, following the wave of darkness.

Kayvaan screamed.

"What's wrong kiddo?" asked his grandfather.

Kayvaan looked down and yelped again as the shadowy façade of his grandfather looked up at him. A skeletal body made of patches of shadows and instead of a face, a large gaping mouth with dark teeth made of black ashes. Kira was gone and Kayvaan fell through the incorporeal form of what was his grandfather and landed in the rapidly shrinking patch of light.

All around him, the beautiful cheery blossom trees were swallowed by shadows, twisting and warping into abused husks of their former selves. The gusts of wind and creaking of trees was completely replaced by an emptiness as quiet as death.

As the shadows reached him and crawled up his body, Kayvaan opened his mouth to scream but no sound came out. He was pulled down into the shadows as the husks of his family lunged at him, dark claws extended and mouths open, ready to tear into his flesh.

Darkness all around, everywhere.

He opened his eyes and jumped up, falling out of his bed. He looked around, finally realizing where he was. On the far table, his chemical equipment still dripped away, concocting substances for his needs. On the side was the small vial of shadows, half empty, and the used needle next to it that he had injected himself with.

His locked chest was at the foot of the bed, containing his birthright, twin weapons from the armories of Kashuri. He continued to spin and was startled as a human shaped figure detached from the shadows and jumped at him with razor claws. He fell backwards and pushed his hand out, surprised as the shadowy form broke apart on contact.

As the pieces floated away into nothingness, a faint call was heard.

 _"W-w-what's wro-ong K-k-id-do"_

As the final pieces dissipated into the night, he swore he heard the faint notes of strings being plucked and the laughter of children.

* * *

 **IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTES BELOW**

 **PLEASE READ TO LEARN THE FUTURE OF THE PROJECT AND HOW YOU CAN BECOME INVOLVED**

Alright, it's been a great first leg of our journey together! Lasting around 8 months and with a terrible schedule, I can safely say that Sequence 1 is over and I sincerely hope you enjoyed it!

This chapter rewrite stemmed from my dissatisfaction of the final chapter that didn't tie up as many ends as I wanted to and didn't get me to the place I wanted to be in the story overall. Pretty much the only thing you guys know about Kayvaan is his name and some other useless stuff. This hopefully fleshes out his character a little bit and takes away from the retarded OC subtype of grimdarkness by showing a lighter side of his childhood. But not too much. Can't have Kayvaan going soft now.

(Seriously though, writers only want one thing and it's disgusting)

((Easy single-sided self-inserts that get instant harems and pussy))

 _*cough* a particular unnamed celestial deity turned human *cough* *cough*_

(((This will be a slowmance of Caitlyn and Kayvaan I promise, just wait and see)))

((((I actually have no idea how to write a romance so this will be a learning experience for both of us))))

Throughout writing this story so far, I listened to a playlist of music (what I do for most of my work to get into a specific mood of what I want to write). It was a really tough playlist to make as I had to cram only five songs into a Spotify playlist. I limited myself only to Spotify rather than Youtube and the internet in general as I wanted to have easy downloaded access to my playlist on multiple devices so I could listen to the music whenever, wherever.

 **This Sequence's song was _Walking with a Ghost_ by _Kadebostany_.**

And yes, _Smiles from Juran_ is a real song and is one of my favorite. It is an OST from Warframe and I thought that it's theme fit perfectly. It will make appearances later so I suggest you listen to it at least once.

The **first four parts of Sequence 2** will come out sometime after my summer vacation and will be released on a regular schedule while I write the second half. That Sequence's song will also be released at the beginning rather than at the end like this one. The only hint I can give right now is that it is a song by _Them Crooked Vultures._ \

The Order is Given, my other story, will continue to be updated sporadically but just know that I have some great ideas I'm heating up in that pressure cooker called my brain.

Special thanks to my good pal and beta SiRoLoL for always being available even though our timezones are like 12 hours apart. If it weren't for my insomnia-plagued friend, none of this would be possible. I love you, you beautiful commie fucker. Also a special thanks to the Fanfiction Fiesta Discord Server for all of the good times, I've had a lot of fun with you guys over this past year and can't wait for more shenanigans and backstabs!

And to you dear readers, I thank you for supporting me. Every review, every favorite, every follow, even every view gives the will to continue writing stories. It is because of you that all of this is possible and I thank you for it. I would love to receive more submissions from you guys on characters as I don't want it to just be my story. I know my vision of the twin cities is different than the norm and I want this world to continue to grow and someday become not just my vision but your vision as well! I ask for nothing and this is only optional of course. Also! If you generally want to meet me and other writers and League players of all calibers that you join the Discord server I am a part of. The link is on my profile and can also be found below. I'd love to get to meet each and every one of you and my friends would too!

This is Fresh Sorc signing off for now!

* * *

 **If you ever wanna hang out with me and a bunch of other League fanfic writers and players discord. gg /n4yk9hq is the place to go (just take out the spaces obviously)**

* * *

 **How to get your OC in my story!**

Alright, now the thing you've all been waiting for… hopefully.

I'll need a few things in no particular order-

 **Keep in mind only submissions for characters from Zaun and/or Piltover will be accepted at this time**

Name:

Age(ish): Just an age range

Who they are: Human? do they have robotic implants? are they a robot?

Personality:

Backstory: doesn't have to be long, I just want to know

Relationships (if any) with other characters/champions: relationships can span from enemies to lovers and anywhere in between.

Any other facts:

 **I RESERVE THE RIGHT TO CHANGE YOUR SUBMITTED CHARACTER HOWEVER I SEE FIT WITHOUT NOTIFYING YOU. CHARACTERS IN THE FORM OF REVIEWS WILL BE IGNORED AND REMOVED.**

I will try to work with you the best I can to keep your characters true to what you intend but may have to change things to make them work in the story.

Feel free to email your stuff to FreshSubmissions1313 gmail .com or PM me on fanfiction. (Just remove the spaces from the email)

I don't have a specific date where submissions will be cut off but it is sometime in August.

Thanks!

* * *

 _Show us the things you can do Dancer_


End file.
